96.5% of all card payment transactions were made with credit and debit cards.
According to data and analytics firm GlobalData, Japan’s card payments market is expected to grow 10.8% to $866.8 billion in 2024 due to the increasing preference for cashless payments.
The card payments market value increased by 15.8% in 2022 and 12.8% in 2023, reaching $782 billion.
The total value of card payments is expected to see a strong compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9% between 2024 and 2028, said Ravi Sharma, senior banking and payments analyst at GlobalData.
Credit and debit cards are the most preferred card payment method in Japan, accounting for 96.5% of the total card payment transaction value in 2023.
Attractive bonus programs from credit card issuers and high acceptance among retailers have made the credit card the predominant choice.
In Japan, debit card penetration is high, with everyone owning four debit cards, according to GlobalData. Use is mainly limited to cash withdrawals rather than payments due to a lack of consumer education and longer payment times.
The rise of e-commerce also drove the growth of card payments as they are the widely preferred payment method for online purchases. According to GlobalData, credit and debit cards accounted for 60.8% of total e-commerce transaction value in 2023.
While cash still dominates the payments landscape in Japan, government initiatives to encourage electronic transactions and improved payment infrastructure have helped payment cards gain traction, Sharma said.
